Taylin Banes’ familiar world shatters when the cruel curse that kept her unable to love is broken. Now she’s bombarded by all the piercing human emotions she’d been forbidden over eleven torturous lifetimes. The nightmares of her deaths crack through her tough exterior, reminding her that this last life is fragile, and fear becomes a new type of torture. Even though the dark curse is broken, the stigma remains, especially amongst the members of the Magic Alliance.
Zach Buchanan comes from a long line of Guardians and has trained with the Magic Alliance his whole life. With the shake-up in the organization over the recent end of Lamont’s curse and psychotic breakdown of a high-powered Guardian, he’s been reassigned. He is to help The Cursed learn basic protection skills. But can Zach set aside his hatred for the infamous Taylin Banes who targeted his family two generations ago?
As Taylin and Zach clash, a sinister force rises up, targeting members of the Magic Alliance and Taylin. With her last life on the line, Zach turns from instructor to protector as the frenetic conflict sparking between them transforms into a fierce attraction. Together they must stop the malevolence threatening those with innate magic before darkness consumes them all.
First lines: Even with the window wide open, the tang of fresh paint makes my nose itch as I, Taylin Banes, stare at the three remaining black walls of my bedroom.
McCollum has written another captivating book in “The Guardians Series”. This time the story is all about Taylin. Deep, troubled but oh so talented Taylin. The book begins with Taylin transforming her bedroom and herself. It looks like she is trying to shake off the darkness of the curse but the trouble isn’t completely gone. As Taylin’s paranoia rises it becomes increasingly obvious that although the curse is broken, the damage it creates is still on the move.
“Broken” moves much faster than “Siren’s Song”. The fast pace accentuates Taylin’s paranoia and really gets the suspense train rolling. It wasn’t until I was well into the book that I had any idea who the person/persons were tormenting Taylin. The attacks she faces are clever and full of symbolism. Kudos to McCollum for creativity!
The few loose ends that McCollum left in “Siren’s Song” are cleared up in “Broken”. Luke, Jule, Matt and Taylin’s characters remain strong. The addition of the new characters (like Zach) was done nicely. I was impressed at how much depth McCollum is able to pack into each character with so few words.
This is definitely a stand alone novel so I have no idea what the next book in the series is going to be about. I hope that it explores Matt’s life and maybe what’s going on with him and Carly.
5 stars.
The Technical Data:
Title: Broken | Series: The Guardians Series | Author(s): Heather McCollum |Publisher: Spencer Hill Press / Publication Date: 3-26-2015 |Pages: 306 (Print) | ISBN: B00VAOYCA4 |Genre(s): Paranormal Romance & Science Fiction |Language: English |Rating: 5 out of 5 | Date Read: 9-14-2016 |Source: Copy from Author
P.s. This book has another cover too. The one I’ve used in this post is the cover on my copy. I prefer this one.
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